Dalbeattie Star v Spartans

 
STAR FIGHT BACK FOR BRAVE POINT
After a turbulent few days for the club, Dalbeattie Star travelled to the home of the champions and managed to maintain their unbeaten record at Ainslie Park. In a match where both sides could possibly give legitimate reasons for winning the match, a draw was probably a fair result. It was perhaps a case of the teams cancelling each other out and though clear cut chances were at a premium, there was still a lot of quality football on display.
The pre-match build up was understandably dominated by Star manager Paul McGinley’s decision to announce that he was to step down at the end of the season. The big question was how would the team cope and how would they perform knowing the manager was moving on in a few months, and how would the management team handle a difficult situation. However any worries were soon banished as the players turned in a polished performance and on the bench Skin and Rakey, well were just Skin and Rakey. Euan Drysdale stepped in for the suspended Darren Martin in goal and Lee Wells came in with Tommy Muir on the bench and Jack Steele moving up front.
Both teams settled well and in blustery conditions both kept the ball on the deck as often as possible. There was lot of early sparring with few efforts on goal though a clever back heel from Donal Henretty was well blocked by Gregor Anderson. Star’s reply was a Lewis Sloan corner that caused minor panic in the home defence but Steele’s snap shot from close range was wide. It was half an hour before either keeper was really called into action and it was Drysdale who looked sharp to save from Paul-Jon Sludden. However two minutes later the striker gave the young keeper no chance whatsoever when he drilled a sweetly struck shot from over 20 yards low into the corner to give the home side the lead. It was in fact the first time that Star had ever fallen behind at Ainslie Park but their response was good. The closest they came to an equalizer in the first half was four minutes from the break when a Lewis Sloan free kick was saved by keeper Blair Carswell but Hugh Cameron showed he had lost none of his forwards predatory instincts when he latched onto the rebound. He played the ball to Danny Dunglinson who in turn cut it back to Steele who under some pressure fired high over the bar from just outside the 6 yard box. Steele’s reaction to the miss probably showed he felt he should have scored.
At the break Star made a tactical switch with Graeme Bell replacing Lewis Todd and five minutes in they were on level terms. Sloan intercepted a slack pass in the Spartans defence and played the ball to Bell who returned the ball to Sloan as he sped into the box. Despite having defenders either side of him Sloan took a good touch before he beat Carswell with an accomplished finish that flew high past the keeper and went in off the post. By this time the heavens had opened and the entire second half was played in torrential rain. However full marks to both sets of players as they continued to entertain the crowd. On the hour Dean Horribine fired narrowly over with a 25 yard strike and in the 77th minute Drysdale produced a good save from a curling effort from Alan Brown. As the game neared its end it was Star who looked more likely to score a second as they probed forward. Two minutes into stoppage time Sloan and Steele combined well at the corner of the penalty area and Steele burst into the box. He could easily have gone down under a heavy challenge but carried on and squared the ball across the 6 yard line that just eluded the onrushing Bell. However Dunglinson was following up and with a number of bodies between him and the goal, his left foot shot crashed off the post and the chance was gone.
At the final whistle both teams seemed content with a share of the spoils and no one could argue with that. It was a good end to a difficult week for everyone at the Star. There is still a lot to play for between now and the end of the season and it would be fitting to finishing Paul McGinley’s second spell in charge with silverware of some sort. The management and players have shown they can cope with what could easily have been a more awkward situation, and if they can carry on in the same manner for the rest of the season then Star could well have a memorable few months. Next up is the biggest game of the season for Star as Civil Service Strollers visit Islecroft in the quarter final of the SFA South Region Challenge Cup. Onwards and upwards!         
SPARTANS 1                       DALBEATTIE STAR 1
Sludden (10)                      Sloan (50)
SPARTANS: Carswell, Brown, Cennerazzo, Malone, MacKinnon, Stevenson, Beesley (Douglas 70), Horribine, Henretty (McLeod 70), Sludden, Motion
Subs not used: Nixon, Sivewright, Beacher
Yellow Cards: MacKinnon
DALBEATTIE STAR: Drysdale, Maxwell, Park (Neill 55), Anderson, Cameron, Dunglinson, Fergusson, Wells, Steele, Sloan, Todd (Bell 46)
Subs not used: Muir, Baxter, Neilson
Yellow Cards: Wells, Dunglinson
Ref: E Cairns
Assistants: D McGeachie & A Safi